#438 - Identiverse 2026 - Sean O'Dell

Recorded live at Identiverse 2026 in Las Vegas, Jeff sits down with Decoded co-host Sean O'Dell for a wide-ranging state of the union on continuous identity, shared signals, and the identity questions AI keeps raising. Sean shares what he is hearing on the ground about the upcoming transaction tokens spec, why continuous identity has moved from concept to mainstream adoption, and how shared signals are expanding into commerce. The conversation shifts to AI: the real cost of securing it, why model provenance matters, and the murky question of who is on the hook when an AI agent makes an expensive or harmful decision on your behalf. They debate companion agents, consent versus power of attorney, and whether the identity industry even owns this problem. Sean closes with a simple piece of advice for anyone feeling overwhelmed by AI right now. Connect with Sean: https://www.linkedin.com/in/seanodentity/ Connect with us on LinkedIn: Jim McDonald: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jimmcdonaldpmp/ Jeff Steadman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jeffsteadman/ Visit the show on the web at http://idacpodcast.com Timestamps: 00:00 Intro and a Decoded update 00:44 Transaction tokens spec preview 01:51 State of the union on continuous identity 03:39 The questions organizations are asking 04:34 Is it still all about the data 05:07 Shared signals framework moving into commerce 06:40 Is AI a fad at Identiverse this year 07:11 The real cost of securing AI 08:00 Model provenance and indemnity 09:39 IAM for AI versus AI for IAM 10:18 Trusting agents to act without oversight 14:51 Assigning authority to the who and the what 16:13 The cruise booking example and who is on the hook 20:16 Companion agents, consent, and power of attorney 23:00 Does the identity industry own this problem 25:00 Relationship and intent as the real issue 28:03 Could an insurance market emerge for agentic AI 29:18 An access review scenario gone wrong 30:41 Small specialized language models for identity tasks 32:11 Favorite hallway conversations at Identiverse 36:05 Wrap up and words of wisdom on AI FOMO Keywords: IDAC, Identity at the Center, Jeff Steadman, Jim McDonald, Sean O'Dell, Decoded, Identiverse 2026, continuous identity, transaction tokens, shared signals framework, agentic AI, AI security, model provenance, IAM, digital identity, identity and access management